Critical Analyses of The Red Badge of Courage

In general, Stephen Crane's The Red Badge of Courage is regarded as a great work of the Realistic literary time period. Many critics of this work cite Crane as a true genius for his ability to make a story of the civil war period, a period taking place before his birth, seem incredibly realistic and accurate to the personal scale of this war. I agree that this story seems to be written by a veteran of the war. Crane really did his homework when writing this novel. He interviewed many many veterans of the war to be sure to have an accurate depiction of the battlefield. This is something that I really can commend him on. Although I may not be the biggest fan of his writing style, I like that he got his facts straight and tried to honor these veterans through reality.

The Dial controversies that Crane faced after writing his novel are a very interesting topic in my opinion. I am a big fan of debate through actual words and reasoning, and these ideas seemed to triumph. General McClurg, writer of the magazine the Dial wrote that Crane was "un-patriotic" in that he portrayed the American soldier as a coward. McClurg's argument, in my opinion, seems to be based on emotions rather than actual facts. The General fails to see the psychological growth of Henry throughout the novel into a courageous individual. Many arguments were sent into the magazine in favor of Crane's novel.

I am kind of surprised that English critics of Crane's work were so accepting. American authors had a real job in convincing English author's of their merits and knowledge. Crane did so with new, informal writing styles. It surprises me that this form of writing could win over such harsh critics. It also surprises me that American critics would be so harsh of his work. I guess this makes sense, however. American authors needed to be harsh on each other seeing as they were all in a fight to make their writing the best in the world.

Red Badge of Courage: Chapters 1-8

Stephen Crane's The Red Badge of Courage is a novel of the Realistic period in literature. The novel demonstrates exactly what the thoughts of this period were; The writing style is very descriptive and focuses on realistic events in the everyday life of a civil war soldier. Throughout the story, Crane uses more psychological events than actual events. When actual events are used, they are only to give the main character, Henry, something to react to psychologically. One example of such an event would be Henry's going into the army. After this happens Henry is faced with nervousness about how he will react in battle. Will he run? Will he fight? He won't know until he enters the field of battle. And yet he poses the question to himself constantly. Then to others. He basically overworks himself over it. In the end he fights, but then later in battle runs away as many others around him are fleeing.

Some may classify this as realism for it's dry and boring style of writing. I would happen to be one of these people. We haven't read much Realism in our class yet, but this book, so far, has caused paradigms in my mind about this period in American literature. The book is very boring in my opinion, and I can't force myself to sit and read it like I am able to do with most other books. It's the sort of book that I need to read a little bit of at a time, and this process is foreign to me. I, therefore, retain much less knowledge of the story from one sitting to the next. It is a complex psychological story which is even less beneficial for my remembering of the story.

When first attempting to read this novel I only took in the actual events that Henry's regiment faced. Somehow, my mind filtered out all of the psychological aspects of the story. As I have previously stated, not many events transpired in these first chapters. This may have contributed to my boredom while reading.

Veteran's Day Field Trip

On Friday, November 13 (Yes, Friday the Thirteenth! I was scared too!), our school took an all day field trip in honor of all of the Veterans that have served in the United States military. Much to my surprise, this was a very interesting and educational trip. We went to a war museum, an Airforce base, Camp Butler cemetery, Oak Ridge Memorial, and other such locations. I found the Camp Lincoln War Museum to be the most interesting of all of the places that we visited. It was the first location that my group went to, and it really helped to catch my attention for the rest of the day. The museum was chock full of war artifacts such as weapons and uniforms spanning all the way from the Civil war until modern times. It was interesting to see the progression in technology from then to now. They also had interesting things such as a target that President Lincoln test-fired a gun at and the captured wooden leg of Santa Anna.

The Air National Guard was very interesting as well. At this location we looked at an F-16 fighter jet undergoing maintenance. This peaked my interest in Engineering. The aircraft was very complex in its inner-workings. We also saw a group of airforce members grilling steaks. It was good to find out that military-folk enjoy good food just like me. It was good to know that they were humans, I guess.

At Camp Butler, we placed flowers on the graves of veterans from many wars throughout history. One girl, I don't know her name, had a very emotional response upon seeing the graves of many of her veteran family members. This response was very touching to me. My great-uncle just passed away this summer. He was a veteran of World War II and was awarded a purple heart after being shot in the leg. I know that I miss him a lot, so this girl's situation must have been very sad seeing as many of her family members were veterans.

Realistic Dreams

I don't have dreams very often, but when I do they are incredibly realistic. Actually, just this past Friday I had a very hyper-real dream. It was ridiculous in that it's not something that would never happen, yet it seemed very real. Someone that I know who plays the trumpet was playing piano expertly in this dream. The piano, however, did not only have keys side to side, but also front to back. This all sounds really odd now that I actually think of it. It was so realistic though! The dream ended with a song on the piano. I then woke up and my phone was ringing to the piano song. As it turned out, it was 6:50. Friday was one of the nights of the musical and I was supposed to be there at 6:30 for the 7:00 show. This goes back to my biggest fear blog, forgetfulness. I was just so tired when I got home that I pretty much just passed out. I only awoke because of the phone call I was getting to find out where I was from the other people in the pit. I ended up getting ready in about two minutes and getting to the show three songs in. I even missed one of my solos!

I think that, seeing as I don't have very many dreams, my few dreams are triggered by my subconcious fears while sleeping. I often wake up to some sort of music which ends up being my alarm. My alarm is usually going off about a half hour after I set it when I wanted to wake up. My dreams must know somehow that I am not waking up and they try to make me know that it's time. This usually just comes across as a dream that seems like I'm really awake.

When I was much younger I would sit around with my cousins on holidays and talk about the weirdest dreams that all of us had ever had. Dreams are really quite fascinating things, especially the very realistic variety. I wonder if I somehow ruined my ability to have normal dreams through this constant discussion of the subject...

My Favorite Tall Tale

I really enjoy the tall tale of John Henry vs. the Steam Hammer. It is a tale about the will of man to overcome any obstacles that he may be faced with. If you have forgotten this story, here is a brief summary. John Henry was a steel driver working on a railroad. He was the best that there ever was. One day, he was challenged to a competition against a new technology, the steam hammer. The challenge entailed driving a tunnel through a mountain. The two parties battled neck and neck until the very end where John Henry pulled ahead and won. As soon as he finished, John Henry laid down and died. This story has great moral values. It teaches you to never give up. It also teaches to importance of striving for your goals. Also, it shows a sign of the times. The steam hammer represents a new technology, a new invention that would soon put many workers out of their jobs. John Henry, possibly seen as a representative of all railroad workers of the time, showed the necessary will needed for these people to keep their jobs.

I find this story interesting to the ridiculousness of how tall the tale really is. There's no way that one man could bore a hole clear through a mountain. However, the fact that it isn't very realistic helps one to see the characters as the symbols that they are meant to be rather than real people. Also, tied in with the ridiculous factor is a sense of realism. The steam hammer was a real thing that could indeed do this deed. This helped to show just how big of a task John Henry was completing.

This tall tale is just incredibly epic. I love it mainly for that simple reason. A no holds barred showdown of the ages. I also love how it has been skewed over time. John Henry was a real person, and he was indeed quite strong, but he couldn't dig through a mountain. One of my friends, Jace Vaninger, is someone who I would write a tall tale about. He is a legitimate legend. He founded one of the greatest indoor soccer teams known to man, the Mighty Fighty Whale Sharks. What else is there to say?

Vengeance

I don't really think that I'm a person who needs revenge. This is mainly due to that fact that people don't really do anything to mess with me in a serious sense. Talking about vengeance really just reminds me of a famous Bill Cosby comedy routine called "Revenge." It's one of the funniest routines that I have ever heard. In his routine he tells a story from his childhood about a kid named Jr. Barnes who hit him in the head with a "slush ball" in a snowball fight. That was the number one rule about snowball fights: NO SLUSH BALLS. After this event transpired, Cosby began plotting his revenge. It was a long plotting process. In his plan, he befriended Jr. Barnes and slowly gained his trust. For several months he waited. All the while he had been saving a perfectly formed snow ball in his freezer. July came around, and Cosby decided that it was the day that he would have his revenge, his birthday. He had Jr. Barnes on his porch, and he went in to get a soda. He looked in the freezer for his snow ball, but it was not there. Thus, he went out and spit on Jr. Barnes.

This story is just such a hilarious portrayal of vengeance. Vengeance isn't actually a laughing matter, though. And THAT is why it's so funny. Cosby takes matters that aren't traditionally funny and makes them incredibly hilarious. It truly is a real talent.

Even if anyone went out of their way to be mean or cruel to me, I would not feel the need to seek revenge against them. My of revenge would just be to not talk to them as often as I do other people. I would do this because they would obviously be someone who wouldn't want to talk to me. If they were nice to me, I could probably find it in my heart to forgive them. I like to think that I'm usually pretty nice to people until they aren't nice to me.

My Biggest Fear

Really, lots of things scare me. I think my biggest fear is forgetting something really important. I do this a lot, though. This can be as simple as forgetting my calculator for math class, or as big as, I don't know, say, forgetting my instrument for some big band competition. Okay, I've never done anything THAT drastic, but I have forgotten my instrument at times that we were supposed to play. I hate forgetting my book for class. It's one of the worst feelings ever. I'm really scared of the walk of shame while getting up to ask a teacher if you can go to your locker to get the book. Mrs. Williams, who I love as a teacher, scares me to death when I forget something. She has a way of turning the usual, "Go get it," into something that makes you feel extremely guilty for what you have done, a seemingly innocent slip up. To cope with this fear, I usually just pretend that she's being sarcastic. I laugh it off and go on with my day. She can be a sarcastic person, so this is a somewhat fitting lie to myself.

I think that the absolute worst thing that I have ever forgotten was a project for driver's ed freshman year. It was a big project, but I just completely forgot about it until 5:30 the morning that it was due. I scrambled to finish it in the morning, but it was just too big of a project. I ended up failing it and getting a C for the first quarter the class. However, I really worked hard the next during the next quarter. Somehow, through a stroke of great work habits and organization, I pulled off a 117% for the second quarter. Then, I aced the final. Somehow, my semester grade came out as an A. I was very surprised. That one forgotten project led to all of the unnecessary extra work that I had to do, and this has helped to shape my fear of forgetfulness.

Peaceful Protest

I don't really like going against authority, but I haven't really ever found any of my elders to be oppressive in any way. Maybe if I was really being downtrodden I would protest my governing officials, but this would be in a very peaceful way. I really don't turn to violence for anything in my life. Mainly because I'm just afraid to hit anyone. I might hurt my hand or something. Or them. I don't know. If weapons were involved I would be exponentially more afraid than just hitting them. I could do a sit-in though. All you do is just sit there. It's really not that hard, but it is quite effective. Some of the greatest peacemakers of all time, such as Gandhi, used the sit-in technique. If Gandhi found it to be effective, it must be a really effective device for making peace.

I really haven't ever had a situation in which I wanted to protest something vehemently. I have been opposed to things, but not things that need to be protested. Like, for instance the Twilight book series. I really don't like it. In fact, I tried to read it, but it just made me really angry after one page. Another thing is Lady Gaga. Everyone seems to love Lady Gaga. I can't stand her. Everyone thinks that she's so talented and different, but I don't think that different is always a good thing. She doesn't have good songs, her lyrics are really dumb, and she can't sing live. That's a trifecta of music evil in my book. I guess if you wanna dance she's good, but I don't dance, I can't dance, I won't dance, I haven't danced.

Those two things are things that I really hate, but I can't really protest them. People just like them, and I can't take that away from them. I don't really WANT to take that from them either. They can do whatever they want, but I'll still be opposed to it.

Secluding Oneself From Society

Seclusion from society is a great way to find yourself or think of ways to deal with your problems. I don't remember exactly what it was called, but we read a story last year dealing with this theme. It was about a perfect place where you could go when you were stressed out. Not having to deal with other people can leave you alone to think about bettering your own self. This doesn't have to be as extreme as like, say, a one person pilgrimage through a desert or living in the woods for a week or anything like that. It can just be, well, in my case, a quick drive. Crank some tunes. Relax. Think. Just a quick event like this can change my mood easily, hopefully for the better. Just because you go by yourself for a bit doesn't mean that you're antisocial or anything. Everybody needs their own space at some point in time.

Don't get me wrong, friends are great and can ALSO help you through tough times. Sometimes, though, we need to do things on things on our own. It's up to the individual in need of help to decide the true source of the help.

One funny reference to such a seclusion would be the episode "Survivorman" of the NBC Television series "The Office." Michael Scott (Steve Carell) decides that he needs to become in touch with nature after watch the show of which the episode is named after on the Discovery Channel. Thus, Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) takes Michael into a secluded spot in the Pennsylvania wilderness where he will stay for a week documenting all of his ordeals through a camcorder. Michael is a total failure. After about two hours he is hungry. He just wants to go home. However, I still feel that it had some impact on his life. Some very, very , very miniscule impact, yet an impact nonetheless. I don't know. I just thought I'd throw that out there.

Reading for Entertainment

I know people who hate reading books that are assigned in school. For some of these people it doesn't even matter if it's a good book or story. They just don't like the idea of reading things that they aren't allowed to pick. I used to feel this way, but in the past two years I have liked just about everything that we have read in school. One work that really stood out to me that I thoroughly enjoyed every page of was George Orwell's Animal Farm. It was such a clever application of a real life story to talking animals. It was like a fable in its use of lessons and talking animals. Also, I really enjoyed Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth, of which I preferred Macbeth. It was amazing. It utilized very dark psychological themes in showing the downfall of someone who was once very successful.

What I enjoy reading often reflects the music that I like to listen to. Namely The Decemberists. THEY ARE SO GOOD. Phew, got that out of the way again. Anyway, Colin Meloy, with his degree in creative writing, probably enjoyed the same type of literature when he was in school that I enjoy now. It is reflected in his lyrics and themes. Many of his themes deal with merritime events, a subject that I enjoy reading about. His songs of this variety really make me feel like a pirate. Let's reference this link. This song reminds me of Moby-Dick. I just got the same general effect from the excerpt of the story that we read and this song. Either one makes me really happy. His lyrics are a form of literature that I like reading, honestly. They're so well thought out and structured. I don't know, I just love everything that he has ever written. He often reflects the dark themes that I enjoy reading about. Honestly, I don't know why I like these dark themes. I not a very mean person.

An Ideal United States

I don't like history just because everything that has ever happened has been caused by disagreements. One quote from, I forget, maybe Thomas Jefferson, says something along the lines of, "Every 100 years or so, a revolution is a good thing for a country." I don't agree with this statement at all. I honestly wish that people could just agree on everything. There would be no wars. There would be no corruptness. When learning about some of our founding fathers, I'm not proud of this country's beginnings. A lot of the leaders in our young country were back-stabbing and corrupt individuals. Alexander Hamilton, although seen as an economical genius of his time, often went against the best interest of the country for his own fulfillment. A world without these such people would be a great thing. However, some may argue that these traits may have been what pushed some of these successful people to reach their full potential. I don't really think that this is the case. People who want to fight for the good of all would be much more helpful to the country than people looking to do well for themselves. Also, these people's names would go down in history much better than they would had they been kniving and against the good of the people. In fact, I wouldn't even be writing this blog if the world was truly ideal because these people would not be remembered as back-stabbers. Actually, the whole world would probably be united if everyone would have agreed on everything since the dawn of man. Or maybe this speculation is false. Maybe everything would be completely different now. Maybe we would still be unintelligent beings without disputes. I don't know. Let's leave that to the writers in Hollywood. They can speculate all they want.

Either way, I'm not proud of the way that some of our founding fathers acted. But hey, I guess it all worked out in the end. I don't want to debate it.

My Favorites!

I love this topic. I like so many things. This should be a breeze.

Favorite Band: The Decemberists.
THEY ARE SO GOOD. Okay, I got that out of the way. Now I'll tell you why. The Decemberists are a folk rock band from Portland Oregon consisting of Colin Meloy, lead singer, guitarist, and lyricist, Chris Funk, lead guitar, pedal steel, and just about any other random string instrument you can possibly think of, Jenny Conlee, accordion (yes, accordion), keyboard, and backing vocals, Nate Query, upright and electric bass, and John Moen, drums. All of these individuals are incredibly talented at what they do, but the music wouldn't be what it is without Colin Meloy's absolutely fantastic lyrics. He has a college degree in creative writing, and it really shows in their songs. His clever verses, catchy choruses, and dark themes evoke a general sense of awesomeness. Seriously, I feel awesome every time I listen to their music. Everything about the music is just incredibly smart and well thought out. Also, they know how to have FUN. They joke around, they play what they want, and it all works out so beautifully in the end. I honestly love it.
Close second: The Shins.

Favorite Class: Physics.
Physics is amazing. Everything just has to do with formulas and analytical thinking, a real favorite activity of mine. I also love dealing with numbers. Pre-Calculus is a great class, but I like physics every so slightly more only because it is similar math applied to realistic situations. Also, I have seen the math of physics at work (see "Working in Groups").
Close Second: Yeah, Pre-Calculus.

Favorite Food: Buffalo Wings.
And I don't mean the tame kind. I want HEAT. I love bold, spicy flavors. When these flavors are applied to a fatty, buttery, crispy, and juicy morsel, I'm good to go. Favorite place to get these treats? Westwoods lodge. Greatest wings ever. Enough said.
Close Second: Oh boy, that's a tough one... I'll have to say... ummmm... Steak. Good Steak.

Declaration of Work Ethics and Organization

I'm just going to come out and say it: I have no work ethics. I'm lazy. I don't like doing anything that I don't enjoy. Sometimes I don't even like doing things that I do enjoy. For instance, these blogs. I love doing them. They're fun. But they take me some time and effort, and I don't like giving up time or effort. I've always been a big believer in "I don't have to do the work if I understand what's going on." However, recently, my ideas have been changed. People have deadlines. When I grow up and have a job, I will NEED NEED NEED to have a good work ethic. I'm looking into a career in engineering. Although it may seem like engineers push back deadlines a lot (i.e. roads or bridges closed for months at a time), they really DO work around deadlines. Their projects are just bigger than anything that I, or any of my peers, have ever done. If I really want to achieve this goal, I need to work hard now to go to a good college, work hard in college to get a good job, and work hard at my job to earn money for my (hopefully) family. I might as well start right now. Therefore, I declare my new work ethic. It is a good work ethic. I will do my work AHEAD of its deadline. I will work hard when given time in class. I will break free from my shyness and ask for help if I need it.

Another thing that would hopefully help increase my productivity is organization. I'm soooooo unorganized. It's ridiculous. Seriously, all you have to do is look inside my locker at school. It is so messy! I really need to clean it out, get rid of what I don't need, file what I will need later in some neat way, and have everything that I need now close at hand for when I will undoubtedly need it.

Logic and Resoning vs. Emotions

I feel that using logic and reasoning is much more effective than emotional reasons for any argument or other situation. I believe that emotions can skew one's thoughts and/or actions in a big way effectively rendering their argument inaccurate or false. Using logic or facts is much more reliable in that it is the truth. Truth will triumph, in my opinion.

As seen in my previous blog "True Colors(?)", I am a green personality: Analytical, intelligent, logical, etc... This backs up why I like to use logic in debates or arguments. However, there is a downside to my necessity for facts in such events. I feel that if I don't have something that is 100% fact to contribute, I can't contribute at all. This scares me into not talking. It doesn't help that I'm also an incredibly shy person. When these two traits are paired, it's really hard to get me to contribute to conversations in classes or with my peers. I don't know why I'm still scared of conversation after all these years because I have found that when I actually do contribute my ideas, people are accepting. I usually offer a completely different perspective to the subject. I really should try to come more out of my shell and just talk. Who knows? I may become a sparkling conversationalist if I really set my mind and actions to this.

Also along with my green personality comes a definition of why I don't like emotions used as argument mediums. In fact, it quite literally is defined with exactly what I just said. Emotions don't make sense. I just try to avoid them altogether and stick to the facts.

So, I guess my main reason for not liking emotions in argument comes from my need for factual information. This can also be seen in my school work. I LOVE math and science mainly because calculations won't like. It's completely objective. Emotions could be compared to Social Studies classes or English classes. These sort of classes are subjective to the judge of whatever is being judged. In historical events I have trouble seeing any of the things that we read about as anything but propaganda made by the textbook company. A neutral party, such as, say, mathematics, try to force anything at me that isn't true. Also, history can be interpreted in many ways. The same applies to emotions. Some people may side with your feelings, but others may just judge you and say that you're wrong.

School Spirit

I don't really have much school spirit, honestly. This year was the first year that I participated in the spirit days of homecoming week. I don't even know why this year was any different. I just kind of participated and didn't question it. Some people hold very high regard for their own school spirit. I don't know why people think that it's something important. Really, I don't know why I DON'T think it's something important. I just kind of don't. I've never really thought about it. I'm not really AGAINST school spirit, I'm kind of just indifferent. I don't know. I just don't know. It's all really weird to me. I mean, I LIKE my school, yet I don't really get into all of its intricacies. I mean, I hate football, and I wouldn't even go to the games if it wasn't for the fact that I'm in marching band. I do enjoy marching band, but not really because it's a big form of school spirit. I just enjoy marching and playing music. It's a real challenge, and I like a challenge. Keeping in step, dancing, doing horn moves, all while PLAYING? What could be harder than that? Not too many things. But I really do enjoy the challenge that it brings.

Spirit week is just something kind of fun as well. I mean, you get to wear crazy hats and outfits to school. That's really fun. And that's how it's supposed to be. People without school spirit should enjoy it too. It's just something that's naturally fun.

Also, Scholastic Team is really fun. I don't really even care that we're representing our school. I guess I do have school spirit in that I respect our school for giving me opportunities to do such things as marching band and Scholastic Bowl. That's a really cool thing. Also, I know all of the work that goes into providing these activities. My parents ARE teachers. They DO sponsor clubs. Often I will get forced into helping with these clubs. I see first hand how much work they actually do.

Ethics and Values

Ethics are an important mental device. They are a form for people to self-govern their thoughts and actions. I guess that, in some forms, governments try to set up a general system of ethics, but it is really up to people to form their own ideals for their personal situations. People, in their early stages of life, begin to form ideas on what the think is right and wrong. This can be seen in respect to Erik Erikson's analysis of the developemental stages of of humans. From the ages four- six, a person deals with initiative vs. guilt. Guilt makes one feel that they have done something unethical, and this action finds its way into a "no-zone" of wrong actions. People soon begin to value their choices and try to better themselves for the sake of their own well-being or society on a whole.

Ethical values can be set by traditions passed down from generation to generation. Parenting can play a key role in the ethics of the next generation. If a parent is protective of their child, this child will most likely develop strong ethics. However, overprotective parents can lead to anxiety issues in the children. Contrarily, lax and irresponsible care of youngsters can lead to a complete lack of ethics. These unethical individuals will not value anything and eventually accomplish nothing meaningful in their life.

Even more contrarily, some children may learn their ethics from the things that their parents do wrong. For example, someone's parent may use harsh language very much in everyday speech. The child may see their parent as a monster and a fool and try with all their might to be the exact opposite of this aspect of their parent's life. However, this sort of teaching needs a foil. One of the parents must retain the "right" way of doing things as an example of how to be. One parent or other individual as an example of the "wrong" way is just enough to show the child exactly how not to act. I know that being told how not to do things is always a helpful device that teachers can offer me.

Working in Groups

I like groups sometimes but at other times they just seem really pointless and even hurt the project being worked on. Groups should only be assembled when the work being done actually needs multiple minds working together. Also, if there is one weak link in the group, a lot of the work will suffer due to there lack of effort, talent, or any other countless detriments that an individual may have.

I have been in some really good groups. I think the best group work I have aver been involved with was last year in POE class. I was in a group with Matthew Tomaw and Matthias Wellington Hughes in an effort to build an accurate ping pong ball launcher. Basically, Matthias built a prototype on his own and it worked. Then we tested it together. Our tests are where our teamwork shined. We all had our own job, and each of us did it efficiently. Matthias launched the ball, Matthew measured the distance, and I recorded data. The data was recorded digitally, and then our results were put on a graph. It was very efficient and we ended up getting a good grade on the project. In fact, we were the ONLY group that got an A. I really believe that we deserved that A. We worked very well.

Another favorite form of group work for me is Scholastic Team. I love being captain because I can decide who has the right answer, and I still get input from everyone.

However, I have been in some bad groups. Last year I was a part of the team quest competition. It was the first year that we had a sophomore team, and we felt that we had a lot to prove. We, sadly, ended up getting last place. I don't know what it was. I guess that, individually, we were all very productive, but when we were thrown together into a group, we froze up. The team consisted of 4 members: Matthew Tomaw, Samantha Anderson, Tareyn Powel, and myself. When it came down to it, we really failed ourselves, our coaches, and our school.

Organized Religion

Organized religion in society is a form of quellment for the citizens of that society. It keeps the people happy and in line and helps to stop revolts. People are naturally inquisitive. This is a fact. And these naturally inquisitive individuals want things to be explained. Religion fulfills these requirements in all rights and aspects. Religion should not, however, be forced upon people. Choices in such matters give the individuals a feeling of freedom. A feeling of repression leads to revolts, the very thing that religion is employed for. People who embrace atheism are also inquisitive, but in different ways. They wonder why religion is necessary. They don't believe in a higher being who created the universe, and they search for more scientific reasons for this event. Their form of non-religion, as unorganized as it may seem, has structure. This structure is just very different from religious structures around the world.

Religion, when overly ruly, is not successful. Anger is created through forced thoughts. This is like a machine or experiment. The more variables present, the less likely a system is to work. Variables, in this case, would be rules imposed by churches. However, if religious figures just sit back and only impose the most necessary of rules, the system will work. This can be seen in the Puritans. The Puritans were very disciplined. They had rules for just about everything. When these religious peoples came to the New World, their rules were still THERE, yet they were no enforced. Thus, they ignored and attacked these rules. This eventually led to rationalism. Rationalists did not have many rules. In fact, they were open to any religion that they may so choose to listen to. All of this was brought on by overimposed rules in their religious society.

Organization in Religion is somewhat necessary, though. Rationalism was the other extreme counterpart to Puritanism. With less , guidelines, we'll say, they lost all sight of religion. Losing their sight was not good for morale, and these people may not have known WHAT to believe.

Let's Play the Blame Game!

People blame me for things a lot. Maybe just a little bit too much. I don't like it when this happens. I feel like I've become somewhat of a scapegoat for my peers. It really isn't a good feeling, in my opinion. People say things to me, and I'm not exaggerating at all, like, "Blake, the Great Depression was all your fault." This may seem humorous at the time when the person is saying it, and I may laugh too, but I'm really hurt deep down on some subconscious level. Some very, very deep down layer of my mind absorbs all of this mental torture. I'm sensitive about this, but not sensitive enough to actually get directly mad at these people or stay indirectly mad at them for an extended period of time. Only now, thinking back on all of the things that I have been blamed for, do I really feel hurt. Sometimes I'll, I don't know, just sit down at lunch and an anonymous friend of mine will just randomly shout out, "GO HOME BLAKE!!!!!" I haven't gone home yet, but how much longer can I just sit and take this abuse? Often, if I am working in a study group, whenever I mention anything, my ideas are shot down with a, "NEVER SPEAK AGAIN, BLAKE!" I don't know what I've ever done to these people to make them react so strongly.

I don't really think that I blame people for things much, maybe just cause I can't fit in any accusatory remarks between others' abuse in the form of words. I guess I really only blame people of things in my mind, and only if I'm absolutely sure that they are at fault for whatever problem I may have. I guess I just kinda believe in giving people as many chances as they need to get something right, and this involves forgiving them instantly and moving on with life. Life goes on.

Deal with it.

True Colors(?)

I took the true colors test. It says that I'm a Green, which I agree with wholeheartedly. This indicates that I am analytical in my approach to problems. I am inquisitive about things around me. I think that it was really just a given that I would be Green.

Some of the other categories surprised me, however. My second highest score was in the Gold category. I have no idea where that came from, because golds are very organized and punctual. I am not either of these things on any level. I am, however, very gold on two levels: I like to follow the rules in any situation, and I don't like harsh language. I still don't know how this qualifies me to be a Green-Gold.

My third highest score was in the Orange category. I guess that this fits pretty well. I like to have fun, but it's not really my main priority. Contrastingly, it is not my lowest priority. I can be spontaneous at times, but I am usually more comfortable planning everything in advance.

Blue was my lowest color score, and from the questions asked, I feel that this is accurate. However, from my own view of what a Blue person is, I feel that I am VERY Blue. From the questions asked, almost all dealing with Blue were about intimacy in relationships. I don't know anything about this, but from what I have seen others doing, I doubt I would like it or hold it as something important. I just see kissing as disease transfer. It's pretty gross when you think about it. The true definition of Blues place them as emotional. I'm not usually that emotional in my opinion, but other people may see me this way.

From my perspective, Blues are nice and caring. I feel that I can be both of these things. However, I do think that I'm only nice and caring to people that I know well. Blues, for the most part, can be nice to ANYONE.

Categorization of People on Personal and Societal Levels

Everyone categorizes people naturally; this sort of thought is just automatic. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it can lead to prejudices and other negative thoughts. Categorizing can be as simple as "People I Like" vs. "People I Don't Like". I categorize these two groups based on how my own peers treat me. If people are nice to me, I will generally put them into the "People I Like" category unless I've seen them do really stupid things. If people are just flat out disrespectful to me and they have absolutely no reason to do so, I lose all respect for them and stick them in the group of "People I Don't Like". Luckily, there are more people in the "People I Like" group.

These aren't really the only two categories that I break people down into. I would be lying if I said that I don't see people as jocks, brains, and other such stereotypes. However, I don't judge if I like them based on what their category or categories may be. In fact, I like to start conversation using what their interests may be, or what they are categorized as in my mind. It's interesting to have a variety of different kinds of people to talk to. Information and ideas from different people vary a lot. You can see such differences as a good thing.

I also associate people based on their friends. I don't see cliques as people who happen to fall into the same category. I know people who mix categories a lot when choosing friends, and this breaks them down further into smaller categories. I like this aspect of social life. Eclectic experiences bring on eclectic discussion topics and eclectic thought processes. People can gain new ideas from what their friends have to say, and they can influence their friends as well.

All people really break down people into groups, maybe even just as a means of mind organization. This can be bad, but also just a different way to see things.

On Loss

Losing everything would be completely demoralizing. Just the fact that you will never have any of those things that you have grown to love again is bad enough, but this is paired with a feeling of hopelessness and despair that you will not have any chance of ever regaining your normal flow of life. After losing everything, you would not naturally have any drive to regain your things. It would most likely take counseling of some sort for a person to even begin to cope with the stresses of losing all of their possessions.

Loss seems to be a recurring theme in American literature thus far. In John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, the Joads lose everything that they can't fit onto their truck. They then must cope with the stresses of losing not only their material possessions, but also their memories of home. In J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, Holden has lost his innocence. He focuses his efforts on making sure that children do not lose their innocence as he did. In Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea Santiago strives day and night to catch the giant Marlin, only to lose it to sharks on his return. And, most obviously, in Upon the Burning of Our House, Ann Bradstreet tells of how she loses everything in a house fire. Her faith gets her through this, and she actually manages to find a bright side of her unfortunate situation.

I feel that this theme is common because it is very interesting to read about hypothetical situations that would be very disappointing if they happened to the reader. It is naturally appealing to humans to see how other people would act in dire situations, fictional or nonfictional. Also, as with reality TV shows, people enjoy watching other people struggling or in their lowest form of humanity. I honestly don't know why, but I can be easily entertained watching normal people running an impossible obstacle course. The more normal they are, the better. I grow to love these people, and if they cross the obstacle safely, I feel very happy for them. I get the same way about literature. I like to be able to relate to characters' struggles. When dealing with loss, I root for the characters and hope that they can overcome their obstacles.

The Importance of Documented Rules in Society

As much as we may think that life would be great without rules, we all know deep down that these guidelines are completely necessary for a well functioning society. Anarchy only results in total destruction of society and anti-productivity. Rules need to be written and well enforced to keep people in line. However, rules must not be over imposed or overwritten, for this would lead to a lack of freedom. This would also lead to destruction of society and anti-productivity but for different reasons from anarchy.

It feels to me like there are a lot of people that claim to be are anarchists. I honestly don't believe that anyone who claims this really knows what they are talking about. Anarchy is a one way ticket to explosion town. Looting, pillaging, and other such acts would ensue all around the world. This can be seen even when there are rules, but without that fear that accompanies rules, people would do it without a thought. This kind of thing would become second nature to these people of the anarchy. Without any rules at all no one would even try to follow an "honor system"; this system would no longer exist at all. After most society would become wiped out, people would naturally make rules again.

Now, I'm not saying that governments need to have rules that are super-strict. Life would be like a prison if this happened. But some rules need to be applied to keep a system running smoothly. There would need to be laws to prevent robbery, murder, rape, etc. As I have said, I feel that a fear of laws, or of consequences stemming from those laws, is almost as good of an enforcer as the actual enforcers of the law. People would have to be deranged to ignore some of the consequences just to do some sort of crime.

Over imposed laws would make this whole idea come full circle. People would feel need for a revolution. This would lead back to Anarchy, thus destroying everything. And so, rules are completely necessary in society.

Oral Traditions of Native American Folk Tales: How the World Was Made

Being passed down by oral tradition, Native American folk tales may be altered slightly in text from their original forms. However, the main ideas and themes still persist through the hundreds of years lapsing between the conception of the story and actually writing it down. The original purposes of these stories were for entertainment, caution, to set social guidelines, etc. much like many children's stories in modern times. These kind of stories seem to be universal in all cultures. This shows that Entertainment is a very effective means of getting a point across, especially when dealing with a culture's youth.

In this particular story, How the World Was Made, the archetype method is used to warn children about an underworld found under springs at the bottom of mountains. I feel that this is a way to keep the children of the society from drowning in these springs. The story usefully employs this method as an explanation of common events and as a cautionary tale. Or, this same archetype could be symbolic. It could represent straying from the normal path of life. It keeps the citizens in line, all still in a form of entertainment, which, as I have said, is a very effective means of conveying a message about, well, anything.

Religion in a culture is necessary to answer questions such as "why?" or "how?". People are naturally inquisitive. They need answers to questions, and it is society's duty to produce these answers. This story answers why for many things in nature and human life. It also answers how the world will end:

"When the world grows old and worn out, the people will die and the cords will break and let the earth sink down into the ocean, and all will be water again. The Indians are afraid of this."

Being given the answer to this "how?", I feel that a society can continue on, not thinking of the "when?". The "when?" just becomes an afterthought after having one of the other big questions answered. Thus the role of religion in a society has been accomplished.

Symbolism in John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath"

John Steinbeck's novel The Grapes of Wrath is a symbolic work of art that has been praised through history as an accurate depiction of the dust bowl period and how it affected the "Okies", or families forced from their homes to California in search of work and food. Whether the blatantly obvious or the subtle form of symbolism, the novel employs this technique very effectively throughout the novel.

One of the more subtle symbolic devices is the famous turtle crossing the road. This ordinary turtle encounters struggles and obstacles as it tries to get to whatever its goal is. This turtle is much like all of the Okies trying to get to California. Steinbeck does not really say where the turtle is going. I believe that this shows how the Okies didn't really know where they were going. They didn't know for certain if they would be able to get jobs once out on the west coast, yet they kept on striving to get there. They also had to face obstacles: small and large. Small obstacles, a bump in the road, a car breakdown. Large obstacles, a car out to turn you into roadkill, a police officer out to run the Okies out of the country.

Throughout the novel, several characters swerve while driving to run over various types of animals. I feel that this symbolizes any of the oppressors of the Okies. It seemed as if, in both situations, the more powerful of the two went out of its way to harm the other party. It seemed ironic how the Okies thought nothing of it even though almost the exact same thing was being done to them in a figurative sense.

One of the more obvious examples of symbolism is Steinbeck's characterization of the Bank as a monster full of hunger, or greed. This whole chapter was ingenious and effective for making its point. The following passage pretty much sums up the whole idea.

"It's not us, it's the bank. A bank isn't like a man. Or an owner with fifty thousand acres, he isn't like a man either. That's the monster."

A monster is a perfect example of greed and power. I felt that this piece of symbolism was very well executed and effective. This style of generalization and symbolism was used throughout the novel (much to my own pleasure).

Lastly, in the end of the book, Rose of Sharon breast feeds the man in the barn. I feel that this symbolizes how the migrants had been turned into savages and animals through all of their ordeals. They had no shame anymore. They did just what they needed to survive. However, it also showed how they had banded together. By the end of the book, they thought of others more than themselves.